Introducing The FADERâ€™s 2013 Icon Issue: Trent Reznor | The FADER

To save this post, select a stash from drop-down menu or type in a new one:

Over a quarter century, Trent Reznor, the subject of our annual Icon Issue this year, has slashed one of the most unlikely paths toward music industry success. In 1989, Nine Inch Nailsâ€™ debutÂ Pretty Hate MachineÂ made industrial accessible, going three times platinum in the process. In 1994, a year dominated by soft acts, NINâ€™sÂ The Downward SpiralÂ offered a harrowing vision of sadomasochism and suicide, and still charted #2 on the Billboard 200; 1999â€™sÂ The FragileÂ went on to claim the chartâ€™s top spot. In the decade since, whether heâ€™s boldly collaborating outside his genre, experimenting with digital distribution, producing award-winning soundtracks or creatively helming a forthcoming digital streaming service, Reznor has remained profoundly relevant in a way few of his contemporaries have. After a four-year hiatus, this fall the tortured virtuoso marks a triumphant return to NIN withHesitation Marks, an album that harkens back to the projectâ€™s earlier records without losing any forward-facing momentum. The bandâ€™s ninth release is the latest milestone in the brilliant career of a musician whoâ€™s never compromised his terrifying vision.

FADERâ€™s Icon Issue hits newsstands on October 15th, but you can read all of its Trent Reznor features now. For this issue, Trent Reznor spoke with Andrew Nosnitsky about his first synth, social media, EDM and reinvention. We talked to 14 of Reznorâ€™s colleagues for an oral history of Nine Inch Nails, and to director David Fincher about Reznorâ€™s movie scores. We looked at nine NIN artifacts and their design influences, and profiled three three young artists who, like Reznor before them, use todayâ€™s technology to predict musicâ€™s future. Essayist Daphne Carr investigated the parallels between Reznorâ€™s life and his songs, and photographer Ross Mantle photographed landscapes in Reznorâ€™s hometown. Find links to those stories below, along with audio excerpts from the issueâ€™s centerpiece interview, where Reznor talks about Kanye West, Disclosure and avoiding nostalgia.